Machine for operating on blanks



Sept. 4, 1928. 1,682,800

W. T. B. ROBERTS MACHINE FOR OPERATING ON BLANKS Filed March 15. 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Q 1 l V x 113 I, 110

Sept. 4, 1928. 1,682,800 W. T. B. ROBERTS I MACHINE FOR OPERATING ON BLANKS' Filed March 13. 2 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 //V [/15 727R. M

m8 3% E @w @w Mm firs pt. 4, 192a. 1,682,800

W. T. B. ROBERTS MACHINE FOR OPERATING ON BLANKS Filed March 13, 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Q g a N Q 0 Patented Sept. 4,1928.

1,682,800 PATENT OFFICE.

winmm moms nocxmsm nonnn'rs, or nnronsrnn, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR 'ro omen snon mcnmnnr ooarona'rron', or rarnnson, NEW JERSEY, a core PORATIQN OF NEW JERSEY.

mom-NE non OPERATING- on BLANKS.

Application filed Kai-ch 13,1922, Serial 1T0. 543,438, and in Great Britain March 22, 1921-- This invention relates to machines for oper-,

ating upon and distributing blanks in accordance with the extent'of a selected dimension thereof and is herein illustrated as embodied 5 in a machine for. splittin and sorting soles each in accordance with t iethickness of its thinnest spot.

A machine known as the Nichols evening and grading machine which marksand evens m soles and similar blanks each in accordance with its thickness is used extensivelyin the trade 5 and one object of the present nvent on is to provide in combination 'W1l7l1 tl machine of this eneral type an improved dlstributmg 5 mechanlsm adapted to receive the blanks after a they have been evened or otherwise operated upon and distribute them into groups the members of each of which shall have the same thickness. To this end the illustrative machine is provided with mechanism 91' evening -blanks in accordance with the thickness of the thinnest spots thereof, a feeder which receives the blanks one by one from the evening mechanism, an intermittently operated conveyor having receptacles to wh1ch. the blanks are delivered one by one by the feeder, a series of bins each designed to receive blanks of a given thickness, and means forcausmg the conveyor and its receptacles to dlstrlbute I the evened blanks into the properblns.

This andotherfeatures of he invention together with certain details of constructionand combinatins of parts will be described as embodecl in an illustrative machine and pointed out in the appended claims. Referring now to the accompanying drawigure 1 is a more or less conventional side I elevation illustrating the general arrange ment of the machine;

Fig. 2'is a side elevation, partly 1n section of a part of the mechanism on a larger scale;

Fig. Sisa plan view, partly broken away, of the parts shown in F1g. 2; a i

Fig. 4 is an end elevatlon, partly in section, of the parts-shown in Flg. 2 and Fig. 5 is a detail of a locking device. The machine nomprises stock treating mechanism and distributing mechanism: Re-.

ferring first to Figure 1, the stock treating mechanism comprises a machine which may be like that shown in United States patent to Nichols No. 1,058,623, the reference characters applied to it being the same as those used m In this machine, the sole or passes between feeler rolls (not the patent. other blank shown) which operate to adjust a rack-bar description of this machine will be given,

rcferencebeing made to the patent. It will be understood, however, that during the passage of a blank through the machine the rack bar, which controls the setting of the splithug and marking mechanism, is adjusted to,

and held for a time in a position corresponding to the thinnest spot in the blank, and that the shaft 90 is rocked first in one direction and then in the other. Connected with the rack-bar or controller 53 of the splitting mechanism is a rod 108 which adjusts a con troller for the. distributing mechanism, and

pivotedio the upper end of an arm which is fast to the rock-shaft is a rod 236 which trips a one-revolution clutch, said clutch acting to'set a trip rod of the distributing mechanism in accordance with the position of the rod 108 so that the blank will be delivered to the proper bin designed to receive it.

The distributing mechanism is situated at the rear of the evening machine and is organized to receive the evened blanks as they emerge from the machine and to deliver them into appropriate bins 111 according to the thickness to which they have been evened.

The mechaiiis'mcomprises a feeder which receives the blanks, one at a time from the machine, and drops them into separate receptacles 1?. The receptacles are mounted on an endless horizontal convey'er-chain which is advanced step-by-step to carry the receptacles over a series of bins. Each receptacle has at. its bottom a trap-door which, when the receptacle. arrives over a particular bin, is

opened to allow the blank to drop into the bin. Each receptacle carries mechanism which, when the receptacle is in sole-receiving f osition, is set accordin to the thickness of t ie'blank, which is passing through the ma- Illa chine and which the receptacle is to receive,

a so that when that receptacle reaches a particular bin into which it is desired that that articular blank, according to its thickness, all

\ fall, the mechanism on the receptacle encounters one of a series of rolls each associated with one of the bins, and the trap-door is opened to allow the blank to fall into that one of the bins.

The distributing mechanism is driven from the driving shaft of the machine. The

feeder is driven continuall so long as the ma chine is being driven, w ile the conveyorchain is driven intermittently through a onerevolution clutch which is tripped automaticall by the passing of the blank from the fee er. The mechanism on the receptacles by which the tra -door is o ned isset, as has been explained, y'mechamsm actuated by a one-revolution clutclrwhich is tripped. by' the falling of the shoe or presser foot 92 of the evenin machine, and the setting is determined y mechamsm' operated from the rackbar 53. 7' The blank after it"passes from the even-' in and grading;mach1ne,is engaged by .an

' tion of thej .mem

en less chainl provided with claws to engage the under face of? the blank.'- The cha1n is supported on s rocket wheelsfixed on paral? afts 2and 3 rotatablymount lel horizontal s ed in bearin formedjinthe lower end of a member 4; s idably mounted in a vertical guideway formed 1n the frame of the mecha- 'On the shaft 2 are toothed wheels 200 which assist the chain]. in thedelivery of the blank from the feeder and ensure its pro r delivery into its receptacle; Positioned tween the wheels 200 are strippers extending from a bar 202 fixed te the member 4 which prevent the blank tothe teeth of the wheels and being carried round by them. r The upper run of the chain is upwardly inclined away from tlie evening machine in the direction of travel of the blank as it leaves Y light wel the machine; idler ulley rotatably mounted one-stud 6 adjusts ly fixed in a Perb'er the lowerrun of the. chain'and maybe ad usted to keep the chain taut.. 'At ea side of the chain the member has a face '7 inclined in the same direction as the upper run of the chainto su rtthelblank. V

e blank is held against-the chain by a presser 8 the lower face of which is parallel. tothe u per run of the chain The presser is guide in a suitableguideway formed'in the member-.4 and is arranged toiyield upwardly against the ressure of a spring 203 housed'in a vert'ca boss 9 formed on the member 4. :A 'screwthreaded rod 10'by 7 which the-teiisionof the spring may be ad-.

'usted is th ead'ed into the upper end of the ass" and bears on the upper end of the spring, thefrod being-locked by a lock-nut threaded portion of the tacles o the conve or.

uted.

:a half inches -wide, a

lesaeoo 204. A finger 11 pivoted on a horizontal in 12 fixed in the member 4 passes throng a vertical slot in the presser 8 andrests on the blank at a" point over the rear sprocket wheel. The finger 11 has restin on it a vertical rod 13 slidin l mounts in bearin in the member 4. The rod 13 at its u per en is connected to clutch mechanism w ich is tripped-when the finger 11 dro s as the blank passes from beneath it. e clutch controls mechanism which moves the conveyi cg' one step as will presentliebe described.

e vertically slidable mem r 4 is locked in its downward operative sition by a latch 14 pivoted on the frame, e lower cammed face of which engages the upper face of a nut 15 adjustablymounted on the upper presser spring adjusting rod 10 which is e ongated to receive the nut and also a lock-nut 16. The latch 14 is held in its locking position and in its inoperative position by a spring plunger 205 carried in a boss on the frame and has pro ject' from it a pin 206 by which it ma be move The weight of the member 4 an its constitutes a feeder which receives the blanks from the evening machine and delivers them,

as-will resently be described, to the recep- When the bla has passed through the feeder. it falls into one of a; series of receptacles 17, there being in the mechanism under consideration sixteen such receptacles. Each receptacle which is preferably made of some ght material such as aluminum, comrises a rear wall and two sidewalls. The

anner face of the rear wall 18 is inclined at .an angle of substantially 45. The side walls are verticaland are spaced'apart a distance of some six inches when soles are t be distrib- The front edges of the receptacle are vertical at their upper .part and curve towards the feeder at their lower partand are situated, when in sole receiving- 'tion, close to the rear rocket wheel whic is fixed on the shaft 2.- e lower part of the ed and bottom of the receptacle reject the sprocket, whel. The sid joined near their front vertical and top horizontal edges by a thin bar 20 about one and a to deflect the incoming sole towards'the rear wall of the receptacle. A second bar 210extends across the front of each receptacle to prevent the sole e walls are while it (the end in question) is moving upwardly this movement will continue until the rear end of the blank leaves the feeder or the blank has lost upward impetus when the blank promptly slides back down the inclined wall to rest on the bottom of the receptacle. The bar under which the blank must pass and the bar 210 behind which it must pass sufficiently control various'classes of blanks to ensure this action occurring properly with an open-sided receptacle such as is shown.

At the bottom of each receptacle is pivoted on a horizontal pivot 21 parallel to and to the rear of the lower edge of the inner rear face, a trap-door 22. The upperface of the trap-door is substantially horizontal at its rear portion and curves upwardly toward its front edge. The trap-door is held closed by a blade spring 23 attached to one side of the receptacle and having its bent lower end latching over a projection on the side of the door. The trap-door has on its under side a bearing 24 for a horizontal trip-rod 25. The slide bearing for the rod is below the pivot 21 of the trap-door and extends substantially equal distances on each side of and at right angles to the axis of the pivot. The rod is slidingly mounted in the bearing and held frictionally against accidental movement by a spring plunger 26, the end of which engages a flat face formed on the rod. The position of these rods in relation to the receptacles with which they are associated determines into which bin the blank, which is to be carried by the receptacle, will fall; and each rod is positioned in its bearing after its receptacle reaches blank receiving-position, according to the grading of the blank which it is to receive, by mechanism connected with the evening machine as will hereinafter be described.

- Each receptacle has upper andlower rearwardly extending parallel arms 27, 28 each of which carries four rolls, two (29) on rear- (30). on vertical-axes. The four vertical axes are in the same vertical plane and the two 1 upper rolls are directly above the two lower rolls. The upper vertical rolls are positioned above the upper arm and the lower rolls below the lower arm. The axes of the two upper horizontal rolls 29 are in ahorizontal plane a littlebelow the upper vertical rolls, and the axes of the lower horizontal rollsare in a horizontal plane a little above the lower A vertical rolls anddirectly below'the'upper horizontal rolls. Between the u per and lower arms the receptacle hasa t (1 rearwardly extending arm 31. This arm is bored to receive so as to slide freely in it, the horizontally extending cyhndrical'portion'of aforked member 33. The fork straddles a about which the conveyor horizontal endless conveyor chain 34 and is (Figure 2) the other being fixed on a vertical shaft (not shown) at the rear of the mechani'sm and is moved step-by-step as will be hereinafter described. The four vertically disposed rolls on thereceptacle travel in grooves formed in under and upper faces of upper and lower plates 38, 39 fixed in the frame, between which faces the conveyor chain .34 is situated. The grooves have long straight parallel portions extending lengthwise of the mechanism which are connected at each end by semi-circular portions, the axes of which coincide with the axes of the sprocket wheel 36 and the sprocket wheel fixed on the rear vertical shaft (not shown) chain passes. horizontal rolls 29 track on plane faces on the under side of the upper plate and the upper side .of the lower plate. The sprocket wheel 36 at that end of the mechanism which is nearest the blank-receiving position is fixed to a vertical shaft 41. The vertical shaft 41 is rotatably mounted in bearings formed in the plates 38, 39 in which are the receptacle roll guides, and the shaft has fixed at its upper end a bevel gear 47 which meshes with a bevel pinion 48 fast on a horizontal shaft 49 rotatably mounted in bearings in the frame. This shaft 49 has fixed on it a pinion 50 (Fig. 3) which meshes with a gear 51 on a second and parallel clutch shaft 52 rotatably mounted in bearings in the frame... This latter gear 51 is fast to a clutch member 530 rotatably' 530 is allowed a slight amount of movement along the shaft between the brake surface on 1 the frame and a collar 57, fixed on the shaft wardly extending horizontal axes, and two.

52, which engages the oposite end of the clutch member 530. This clutch member cooperates with a second clutch member 58 keyed to the shaft but slidable along it. The second shaft. 52 has first wheel 59 which is connected by chains 215, 217 and suitable sprockets and guide pulleys with the chain 1 of the feeder. The second or clutch shaft 52 has also fixed upon it a gear 60 Which'meshes with agear 61 fast upon a third parallel shaft 62 rotatably mounted in bearings in the frame. This shaft 62 has at its outer end a sprocket wheel. 63 .which is connected by a chain 64 to a s rocket wheel (not shown) on the main ri'vingshaft of the evening machine. With this construction the shafts 62 and 52 together with the feeder chain 1 are driven con- The on it a sprocket tinually, and the shaft 49 is driven only when the clutch members 58, 530 are in engagement.

The clutch members have on their adjacent end faces clutch teeth, and each member has on its periphery a groove, the groove 68 on the first-mentioned member 530 being a cammed groove while the groove 69 on the other member 58 is not cammed. The grooves receive respectively a roll 70 and a roll 71 depending respectively from the middle of each of a pair of horizontally disposed levers 72, 7 3 pivoted at the rear of the clutch shaft 52 on vertical pivots 74 fixed 1n the frame. The levers 72, 73 are substantially parallel to each other, pass over the shaft 52 and are connected at their outer ends by a toggle 75, 76. When the toggle is broken the clutch member 58 is moved along the shaft 52 bya spring 221 collected at one end to that lever 73 controlling the clutch member 58 and at the other end to the frame,

* to throw in the clutch teeth. The movement termined by'a screw 78 a cam and,.thr0u .movesthe other clutch member direction, by the cam, to allow the toggle "to i 7 of the toggle, the member 82 swin wardly about of the clutch member 58 along the shaft is limited by its engagement with the collar 57 aforementioned as being fixed on the shaft .52. As the shaft begins to rotate the lever 72 68 in the first 530 is swung: in the direction the braking surface. in the opposite controlled by the cam groove of relief of pressure on The lever 72 is then swung straighten under the influence of a spring attached at one end to one link 76 of the toggle and at-the other end .The straightened-position ofthe toggle is .de-

which' asses through an extension on the link 75 an bears a ainst the other link 76. The cam controlle lever is then swung in the opposite direction by the h the straightened toggle,

an adjustable screw 222 the. frame and bear ng After the latter ment is limited "bythreaded through lever has been stopped the cam acts to move the braking surfaces into engagement to stop the rotation of the member 530 and move- 17." The rod '13 conveyor chain j next one.

ment of the conveyor chain after one revolution of the member, this movement' of the being just sufficient to carry agiven receptacle 17 from one bin 111 to The toggle is broken as the blank passes out of the feeder into one of the receptacles hereinbefore referred to as resting on a finger 11 which itself'bears on through the feeder en- 'in one arm ofabell-crank .lever 80 mounted on a, horizontal pivot 81.

The other arm of the bell-crank lever is pivotally connected to one; end of a horizontally-disposed arm 82 which passes over the toggle and has formed 2) against the to the lever 7 3.'

ever 73 about its fulcrum to. separate the clutch members. Th1smovethe 1 a bar 920 mounted in a on it towards its opposite end a verticalface 83 arranged to engage a face on one of the toggle links so that a pull exerted on the member will break the toggle. This pull is exerted by a spring 84 attached to the memtoggle link so as to allow the toggle to straighten as hereinbefore described. When the toggle straightens a portion of it moves beneath that portion of the arm 82 on which the face 83 is formed, said arm being then held above the toggle by the action of the cam 85, and, when the cam comes to rest in the position shown, that portion of the arm 82 upon which the face 83 is formed is resting upon the upper face of the tog 'le, the arm 82 being no longer supported by t As the next blank is fed beneath the finger 11, the arm 82 is moved to the right (Fig. force of the spring 84. This causes that portion of the arm 82 upon which the face 83 is formed to be pushed to the right over the upper surface of the tog 1e and finally, when lblldGS off from the e go downits pivot so that the ace 38 is in position to break the toggle as soon as the blank passes from beneath the fin er 11 and the spring 84 is free to act. ere is arranged a hand lever 87 fixed on a cranked rod 224 which may, if desired, be caused to act upon a In 88 depending from the member 82 'tohold t e face'83 of the member away e cam."

from'the toggle linkand also to. hold the lug-900 on the toggle link 75 to maintain .-the"toggle broken and, for example, allow (at' the end of a run of work) of the receptacles being all emptied.

The horizontal trip-rod 25 aforementioned as being mounted in a bearing on the underside of the trap-door of each receptacle 17,

by the position of which is determined the particular bin into which is delivered the lank to be carried b that receptacle, is set by a cam face 910 ormed on the end of horizontal guideway formed on the underside of the lower plate 39. The bar is urged forwardly of the machine,'to set the rod, by a second bar 93 also slidabl mounted in bearin formed on the underside of said plate w 'ch second bar from the rod 13 so that if its end forked to-engage a block 98 pivotally mounted on avertical rod 99 slidably mounted in bearings-in the frame. This rod has on it towards its upper end a cam roll 100 which rests on a cam 101 fixed on a horizontal "shaft 102. When the mechanism is stationary the cam roll 100 rests on the high part of the cam 101 and as the cam rotates the vertical rod 99 is lowered and through the bell crank lever the second horizontal bar 93 is moved forwardly of the mechanism to set, through the first. bar 920, the trip-rod 25 on the receptacle trap-door: A suitable spring 226 urges the vertical rod downward. The first horizontal bar 920 is held in its forward position by the engagement of teeth formed on the under side of a latch member 103 with teeth formed on the upper face of the bar.

The latch member is pivotally mounted on a horizontal pivot 104 in the lower plate 39 and rests by its own weight on. the bar, or may be pressed downwar by a light spring. The latch has at its outer end a cam surface 227 which is acted upon by the upper surface of the rod 25 in the trap-door, as the receptacle moves from sole receiving posltion, to raise the latch and release the first bar 920 which is withdrawn by a spring connecting it to the second bar 93. The cam face 910 at the end of the first bar 920 which engages the end of the rod 25 on the trap-door to position the rod is so formed that when the bar is advanced, as, above described, to osition the trip-rod '25, the rod is not fully a vanced to its correct position according to the thick ness of the blank whichthe receptacle is to receive, and as the receptacle moves from receiving position the rod is moved by its engagement'with the cam into correct 051- tion. according to the thickness of the b ank. The amount of the first movement of the tri rod 25 by the lengthwise movement of t e bar 920 varies according to the thickness of the blank and, with the mechanism above described, is more or less in the nature of the result-of a blow on the end of the rod. With mechanism of this nature ity is sometimes found that, due; to impact, the rod is moved beyond its correct position, or overthrown, with the result that the blank is not delivered into the correct bin. By, the final positioning of the rod 25 in the manner-above described very accurate. positioning of the rod is obtained, the consequent amount of movement to be im arted to therod b the cam being greater t an any like] overt row due to impact. The amount 9 movement imparted to the red by the bar lsdetermined according to the thickness of the b the amount of downward movement of the a ove mentioned vertical cam-controlled bar 99. This bar has on its lower end an in-" clined face 105 which, when the bar is lowered, meets an inclined controller 106 fast to or integral with a horizontal slide 107 mounted in a guideway in the frame. This slide has connected to it one end of the rod 108, the other end of which as has been explained is connected to the horizontal rackbar or controller 53 of the evening machine. The inclined faces on the controller and the rod have on, them steps which correspond to sizes in thickness of sole. These steps ensure that the rods 25 on the trapdoors are set correctly to size and not somewhere in between two sizes as might be the case if the inclined faces were plain. The steps are of fair width so that try/relatively adjusting the inclined faces parallel to the steps the mechanism may be so set that each rod is set thereby to the same position for (at) either a sole of a determined thickness or one of up to half an iron greater thiclmess or (6) either. a

sole of the said determined thickness or one of up to half an iron less thickness. A ready means of efiecting'such relative adjustment of the inclined faces comprises an internally threaded sleeve 241-rotatably mounted in one portion of the rod 108 and confined agalnst endwise movement between a head 242 on the rod and a collar 243 fixed to the rod. The sleeve engages an externally threaded collar 244 fixed on a second portion of the rod. The shaft 102 on which is the cam 101 which controls the vertical bar 99 is driven fromthe shaft '52 b and sprocket wheels 228, 229 through a onc revolution clutch which is actuated b connections includin the rod 236 to the s 0e or presser foot 92 o the forward end of the shoe drops as the trailing end'of the sole passes from beneath it, at which time the rack bar 53 has been-set sole passing through the machine. The details of constructlon of this one-revolution clutch will not be described since they form, per as, no part of the present invention, and any suitable one-revolution clutch may-beemployed.

a chain 227 It will be understood, however, that as the" blank passes from beneath the shoe 92 of the evening machine and the shoe falls, the rod cause the shaft 102-to makevone revolution. 7 The receptacles 17 when they leave the fifteen chutes 110 and under each of them is placed a bin 111. Above and behind eachlof the chutes is one of a series of fifteenhorizontal rods 112. The rods have at their outer blank-receiving position pass over a series of i iron sole and so on, the

I ond stationary thereby pushed evening machine,

- ing the shaft advance the'conveyor chain, and with it the thinnest spot 'duce similar results,

the receptacle, which is next to the. receiving position, is adjusted to engage the trip-r0 25 on the trap-door when the latter rod has been set, as above described, for a three iron sole and the next rod is adjusted for a four a seventeen iron sole. The rods 112, as will therefore be understood, project progressively further into the path of the trip rods 25 of the trap doors as the distance travelled from the receiving station increases. A. receptacle carryinga blank and with a triprod 25 in the'tra door set to correspond with the thickness 0 the sole travels along the track until the rod 25 is engaged by the roll 113 on that rod 112 which has been adjusted for that thickness of sole,'wl 1en, as the recep tacle passes over the chute 110, the trap door is opened by the engagement of the rod 25 and roll 113 and the sole drops down the chute into the proper-bin. The receptacle travels on with-its trap door open until, after it has passed the last chute in the series, the

upper side of the rear end of the rod 25 in the trap door encounters a stationary cam 239 fixed on the plate 39 and the door is closed. The forward end of the rod encounters a seccam 240, and the rod 25 is back in itsbearing ready to be again set, as described, after it reaches the receiving position.

As a sole or other. blank passes through the the rack-bar 53 or controller of the evening mechanism of that machine is adjusted into a position corresponding to the detected by the feeling mechanism, and the controller 106 of the sorting mechanism is similarly adjusted. through the rod 108 which connects the rack-bar with the slide 107 by which the controller 106 is carried. As the rear. end of the blank passes from beneath the shoe or presser 92, the rod 236 is moved to impart one revolution to the shaft 102, thereby, through the cam 101, bell crank 95, push bar 93 and bar 920, setting the tripbar 25 in pro er position. The leather piece then passes t rough the evening machine and its forward end-is caught b the feeder chain 1 and forced beneath the fi iiger 11. The arm 82 .at that time rests upon the top of one of the links of the toggle. As the fin er 11 is lifted, the arm 82 is moved to the rig t until the face 83 descends on the righthand side of the toggle link. The forward end of the blank is pushed into the receptacle. As its rear end passes from beneath the fin'ger 11, the arm 82 is spring 84 thus brea ng the toggle and cans- 49 to make one revolution to receptacle one step. Succeeding blanks pro- 5 from the evening machine, being caught by the feeder and fed into a receptaclethe trip bar 25 of which has been adjusted in accordlast rod being set for shoe 92, is moved at ,a given pirillled to the left by the each blank, as it emerges ance with the thinnest s otof said blank, after which the conveyor 0 ain moves one step. The blank in any given receptacle remains therein until the receptacle reaches a position in which its trip-rod 25 is actuated by a trip roller 113 to open the trap door 22 and permit the leather piece to fall into the bin 111. 1

Although the invention has been set forth as embodied in a particular machine it should be understood that the invention is not limited in the scope of its application to the particular machine which has been shown and described. With regard to the patented evening machine, which has been shown conventionally, it should be understood that the machine is merelv typical of any mechanism in which a member such as the rack-bar 53 is adjusted in accordance with the thickness of a blank, and a second member, such as the point in the passage of the blank through the mechanism.

One or more of the tools, for example the operating upon blanks in accordance with their thicknesses to change a characteristic thereof, of mechanism for distributing the blanks in accordance with their thicknesses as determined by the operating mechanism.

comprising an endless conveyor and receptaclcs mounted thereon, and a feeder adapted to receive the blanks one by one from the operating mechanism and deliver them to suecessive receptacles of the distributing mechanism.

2. The combination with mechanism adapted too rate upon blanks in accordance with the thicknesses of their thinnest spots including an adjustable controller for said operating mechanism the final position of which corresponds to said thickness, of mechanism for distributing the blanks in accordance with their thicknesses as determined by the operating mechanism including an endless conveyor and an adjustable controller for the distributing mechanism, and connections between the two controllers such that when one is adjusted the other is also adjusted.

3. The combination with mechanism adapted to operate upon blanks in accordance with the thicknesses of their thinnest spots ineluding an adjustable member the final posimechanism comprising a conveyor, a plurality of receptacles carried thereby, a trip member associated with each receptacle, and means controlled by the movements of the adjustable member and the movable member for setting the trip members.

4. The combination with mechanism adaptand a movable member which movesto and iii fro once for every blank which passes through the mechanism, of mechanism for distributing the blanks in accordance with their thicknesses as determined by the operating mechanism, comprising a conveyor, a plurality of receptacles carried thereby, a trip member associated with each receptacle, means controlled by the movements of the adjustable member and the movable member for setting the trip members, a feder for delivering blanks from the operating mechanism to the distributing mechanism. and means operated by the passage of a blank through the feeder for moving the conveyor one step: y 5. The combination with mechanism adapted to operate upon blanks in accordance with the thicknesses of theiri'thinnest spots, of mechanism for distrib ingthe blanks in accordance with their t icknessesas determined by the operating mechanism" compris-' ing a conveyor, receptacles mounted on the conveyor, means for moving the conveyora redetermined distance, a feeder fordelivermg a blank from the mechanism adaptedto operate upon it to a receptacle, and meansresponsive to the passage of theblankthrough the feeder for causing the conveyor moving means to be thrown into operation.

6. The combination with mechanism ada t ed to operate upon blanks in accordance with the thicknesses of their thinnest spots thereof,

of mechanism for distributing the blanksin accordance with their thicknesses as determined by the operating mechanism comprising a conveyor, receptacles mounted on the conveyor, means for moving the conveyor a predetermined distance, a feeder for delivermg ablank from the mechanism adapted to operateupon it to a receptacle, and means re sponsive tothe passage of the blank through the feeder for causing the conveyor moving means to be thrown into operation.

7 A machine of the class described having,

in combination, mechanism for evening blanks in accordance with'their and mechanism for distributing the evened blanks in accordance with their thicknesses as determined by the evening mechanism, said distributing mechanism comprising a conveyor, receptacles mounted. thereon, a feeder'for transferring the blanks from the evening mechanism to the receptacles, means including a clutch for moving the conveyor intermittently in such manner that during the auses a receptacle is adjacent the feeder, a r associated with the feeder and adapted to moved by a blank as it is transferred from the evening mechanism to the receptacle, and connections between the finger and the clutch such that movement of the finger by a blank causes the'clutch to become operative. 8. The combination with mechanism for operating upon blanks in accordance with their thicknesses of mechanism for distributing the blanks in accordance with their thick- I nesscs as determined by the operating mechanism including a feeder for receiving the blanks directly from the operating mechanism and delivering them to the distributing ,mechanism, and means-whereby the feeder may he moved out of the way to permit ready access to the operating mechanism.

9. Mechanism for distributing blanks in accordance with the extent of a selected dimension thereof, comprising a conveyor, 7 means for moving the conveyor intermittently a. predetermined distance, a feeder for delivering a blank to the conveyor and means responsive to the passage of'a blank through the feeder for causing the conveyor-moving means to operate. I

10 Mechanism for distributing blanks in accordance with their thicknesses comprising a conveyor, receptacles mounted on the conveyor, means for moving the conveyor intermittently a' 'predetermined distance, a feeder for; delivering blanks one at a time to the receptacles, and means responsive to the passage of a blank through the feeder for causing the conveyor-moving means to be thrown into operation. a

11. Mechanism for distributing blanks in accordance with their thicknesses comprising a conveyor, receptacles mounted on the conveyor, means for moving the conveyor intermittently a predetermined distance, a feeder for delivering blanks one at'a time to the receptacles, and a member arranged tobe en countered and moved by thelblank during its passage through the feeder for causing e conveyor-moving means to operate.

' 12. -Mechanism for distributing blanks in accordance with their thicknesses comprising a conveyor, receptacles mounted on the con- Ill veyor, a feeder for delivering blanks one at v a. means for moving the conveyor interlnlttently in such manner that during its pauses a receptacle is in operative relation .to the feeder, and means operated b the passage of'a. blank through the feeder or setting automatic means for throwing the clutch into and'out of ofperation for moving the conveyor y to cause the receptacles to 8 e aeaaaoo move from one station to the next succeeding one, and operator-controlled m'eans for rendering the automatic means inoperative and thereby permitting the clutch to be op- .erat-ive for any desired interval whereby any selected receptacle may be moved uninterruptedly past any desired number of stations.

14. The combination with mechanism forv operating upon blanks one at a time in accordance with their thicknesses, of mechanism for distributing the blanks in accordance with their thicknesses as determined by the operating mechanism comprising an endless conveyor, receptacles carried thereby and equally spaced from one another, means for moving the conveyor intermittently through distances equal-to the distance between two receptacles to bring the receptacles successively into blank receiving position, and a feeder adapted to receive the blanks one by one from the operating mechanism and deliver a blank to each rece tacle after said receptacle reaches receiving position.

15. The combination with mechanism for operating upon blanks in accordance with the thicknesses thereof including an adjustable controller for said operating mechanism the adjusted position of which corresponds in each case to the thickness of the blank to be operated upon, of mechanism for distributing the blanks according to their thicknesses including an endless conveyor, receptacles carried thereby, means for moving the conveyor step by step whereby the receptacles occupy successively different stations, means for feeding the blanks successively from the operatin mechanism one at a time into a receptac 0, means for causing each receptacle to discharge its blank when the proper station has been reached, an adjustable controller for said last-named means, and connections R between the two controllers such that when one is adjusted, the other is also adjusted.

16. Mechanism for distributing blanks in accordance with the extent of a selected dimension thereof comprising a conveyor, receptacles mounted on the conveyor, means for moving the conveyor step by step whereby the receptacles occupy. successively different stations, means for causing each receptacle to discharge "its blank when the proper station has been reached,- a feeder for delivering blanks successively to the receptacles, and means responsive'to the passage of each blank through thefeeder for moving the conveyor one stelp.

17 machine for distributing blanks in accordance with the extent of a selected dimension thereof comprising an endless conveyor, receptacles forblanks mounted thereon, a clutch, automatic means for throwing the clt'ltch into and out of operation for moving the conveyor step by step whereby the receptacles are moved from one station to the next succeeding one, means for causing each receptacle to deliver its blank when the proper station is reached, and operator-controlled means for rendering the automatic means inoperative and thereby permitting the clutch to be operative for any desired interval whereby any selected receptacle may be moved uninterruptedly past any desired num ber of stations.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

WILLIAM THOIAS BUCKINGHAM ROBERTS 

